Omiyage
by Naoko Asakura
Summary: After three years, Daisuke brings Kyoko back a souvenir.


Disclaimer: Dear readers, I regret to inform you that as I am writing this story, I do **not** own the Heat guy J series. I can only hope Kazuki Akane-sama comes out with more episodes and/or a movie. If there's no possibility, then I can always dream, can't I?

Author's Note: Woo! This is my second KyokoxDaisuke story posted online. I don't know about you guys, but if you know some good KyoxDais stories… Tell me where to find 'em!

* * *

"What am I looking for?"

It was a question the young man had asked himself on multiple occasions. In crucial moments and trivial, this was a reoccurring question that formed on his tongue no matter what.

In this case, his moment of questioning was quite trivial.

"What am I looking for…?" He murmured, studying the shelf stocked with instant dry foods and canned goods. He was inside of a small gas station, confused as to what he wanted for his dinner. Quizzically, he scratched his head with his leather clad hand. "Hm…" With a small frown, he leaned forward.

"May I help you, sir?"

The young man's quandary was briefly interrupted by the sales clerk, who was a portly woman maybe pushing forty-five. Her long sepia hair was well groomed and tied back in a neat bun. She had a kind smile as she cocked her head to the side, her chunky hands folded one over the other at her apron pocket. The young man smiled out of respect.

"Nah… I'm really just in her for a few seconds. I'm making a trip." He said, nodding politely to the woman. The woman's kind eyes grew slightly wider and she raised thick fingers to her medium sized mouth.

"Oh… What kind of trip, if you don't mind me asking you?" She wondered, watching him as he fluidly plucked two cans from the shelf and tossed them into his basket.

"I'm going back home… To my city." He answered as he checked the expiration date on a cup noodle. The woman made a noise of understanding.

"That's so wonderful that your government has given you such a nice opportunity to discover new lands. Did you pick a city that you want to live in? Or are you just going back to your city?" She asked, leaning against the shelf. The young man sighed softly, a look of amusement playing on his features.

"I think I'm just going to stick with my own city… Judoh's a nice place to live. Especially since I've got people who want to welcome me home." He said, walking with her in stride to the front counter.

"Oh?" The woman asked as she rang up his groceries. "Could you have a sweetheart back in Judoh?" She asked, her face turning pink at the thought of past memories. The young man paused, an unreadable expression taking him in thoughtfulness. His eyes wavered.

"Now that you mention it, I don't really know." He explained, taking the plastic bag that was handed to him. The woman frowned in confusion.

"You don't?" She asked cluelessly. The young man nodded, his fair hair glowing in the dusty window's sunlight. At his action, the woman smiled warmly and cast her gaze towards the floor. One of her hands lifted to her cheek and she sighed wistfully. "When you don't know something like that, the best thing to do it to talk it out with the person." She said helpfully. The man blinked at her silently as her eyes lifted to his again. "She must be a very great woman, if you're coming back to your home city to see her."

"…But I never sai-" The young man began, losing his cool resolve for a moment. The woman's smile made him fall silent again, and he looked away. The woman could see with sharp eyes his light pink cheeks. It was the slightest of blushes, but the sight made her once again feel reminiscent.

"When you fall in love, it feels like all the stars are shining around you, doesn't it?" She asked gently, as to not turn the young man into a spluttering mess. He was quiet still.

"I've heard that before. That saying." He murmured, his voice's sharp edge dulling with a contemplative tone. The woman chuckled softly and walked behind the front counter. The emotional atmosphere was gone just as quickly as it had come. The young man reverted back to his previous state, his smoldering eyes dieing down to their normal, cool emeralds. "You know, I think that saying has a little truth to it." He said casually, setting the items he was to purchase down upon the counter. The woman laughed shortly.

"Hmph! Of course it is…Wait! Don't tell me this is your first time feeling this way!" She exclaimed, staring at him with a look of shock. The young man felt sheepish. He pushed that feeling beside though, and wagged a gloved finger at her.

"I'm only twenty-three. Plus, didn't you say that I had a sweetheart?" He failed to catch himself as the word escaped his lips. Once again, he felt mildly flustered. He hid it when he slapped his money down on the counter. The woman continued to laugh, regardless of his betrayed look.

"There's your change… Now hurry back to Judoh to see that nice young woman of yours!"

"I told you!" The young man began his retort when he threw it over his shoulder, "She's not mine!"

"Not yet, at least. Have a nice day!"

"You too!"

Omiyage

By Naoko Asakura

"Kyokoooo!"

The pink haired woman yelped in surprise and nearly fell out of her office chair as the teenager walked into the office. The girl looked around, her eyebrows raised and a smirk on her face. She spun around, her long braids swaying limply before falling to rest at the small of her back.

"Looks like you guys got this place fixed finally." She said, sitting on the couch. She flipped on the television and watched the new flash on the screen. Kyoko sighed and ran a hand through her short pink hair.

"Monica, you're thirteen… Shouldn't you be hanging out somewhere in the city with a boy or something?" She asked, her voice filled with exasperation. She looked past her set of monitors at the girl, who smiled at her.

"What about you? You're nearly twenty four now. Shouldn't you be out with men on dates instead of just hanging around an office?" Monica shot back. "I've got a mother to take care of anyways." She said, fixing her hair idly. "What's _your_ excuse?"

Kyoko turned red and diverted her eyes from Monica, staring at a picture on her desk. A small silence ensued before Monica stood, walking up to Kyoko's desk. She plucked the picture from the desk and stared at it silently.

"You're waiting for someone." She said calmly. Kyoko stared at the place where the picture had been.

"Yeah." She answered, her cheeks still rosy. Monica sighed and turned the picture over, checking the date on the back.

"He's coming back, isn't he?" She asked, setting the picture back down. Kyoko took the picture from it's place again and stared at it. The light of the city outside reflected off the glass, making it difficult to see the figures in the picture.

In front of a large blue and white motorcycle stood a large group. In the background was the city at sundown. Everything seemed bathed in orangey gold light. It seemed all of their friends were there… Boma standing in the middle of those girls who hung around the city, Claire and Giovanni standing looking a bit irritated (they weren't really very good friends, but they were not really enemies at the time), Antonia was arm and arm with J, Shogun with his arms folded over his chest stood beside Mauro and Monica, who looked a bit flushed… She had to run to get in the picture, since it was timed earlier than she thought. Edmundo stood with Monica's mother, his arm around her shoulders. So many other people were there too…

Finally, right in the center, Kyoko stood with a familiar person. She felt a twinge go through her, and she suppressed her smile. He looked so happy standing in the center of his friends, no longer alone in the world. His gold hair was pushed back by wind, showing his genuine smile in his green eyes. She stood beside him, an equally brilliant smile on her own face. She looked as if she was about to laugh in the picture.

"My three years is almost up." She murmured, her small smile falling from her face as she placed the picture on her desk. "If he didn't come back, I don't know what I-"

"Oh, stop being so melodramatic. Let's go out for lunch already." Monica said, linking her arm with Kyoko's.

"A-Ah! I haven't written up these damage reports for Antonia yet though!" Kyoko protested. Monica laughed.

"You say that every day."

"No I don't!"

"Alright, alright."

* * *

"What am I looking for?"

The motorcycle sped along the expansive bridge, the salty wind from the ocean bringing back memories to it's driver as he stared at the giant city ahead of him.

"Who will I see first?"

The motor cycle streaked past cars that seemed to roll slowly across the bridge. The driver smiled, the sun obscuring his eyes behind his driving goggles. More questions arose in his mind as he neared the city.

"What if I see her?"

He slowed down his motorcycle as he entered the city, looking at the skyscrapers he knew all too well. He took note that the city still hadn't repaired the statue coming out of one of the buildings in the distance. The building itself reminded him of another familiar place.

"Maybe I'll go visit." He said, turning down another street and heading towards his new destination.

* * *

"So where do you want to go?"

Monica and Kyoko were standing in the express elevator, chatting about their lunch arrangements. "There's a really nice restaurant right next to here." Kyoko said as the elevator doors opened. She jumped at the sight of the young master Claire Leonelli. He stood there, his hands shoved in his pockets. Giovanni was at his side, blocking the elevator's exit. Monica blinked up at the duo in confusion.

"O-Oh… Claire. How are you doing today?" Kyoko asked, smiling uneasily. Claire simply rolled his eyes and stepped aside, letting her and Monica walk past. It was funny how although the time Daisuke was abducted by Claire happened a long while ago, Kyoko still couldn't get over the fact that Claire had the audacity to pull such a stunt. Even to make her worry that much about…

"Daisuke. It's been a while since we last saw his insolent mug around, hasn't it?" The twenty-two year old asked his right hand man. Giovanni nodded, pulling his black wrap-around sun glasses from his eyes. He glanced at Kyoko for a moment, offering her a sympathetic look before his master spoke again. "Inspector Lady," Claire began again… She always felt a twang of annoyance when he addressed her by that title. "It never fails to amuse me when I see your face. You always seem so irritated by my presence." He tilted his head to the side. Kyoko shuddered under his amethyst gaze. The feeling was pushed out of her mind as she straightened, a short puff of breath escaping her pink lips.

"You, Claire, should know very well why I always feel so irritated around you. You act like you're thirteen!"

"Hey!"

"If you're going to live up to your name, then why don't you just grow up!" Kyoko snapped, ignoring Monica's shout of indignation. Claire stared at her for a little while longer before his lips curled into a smile. The light reflected against his pierced lip, twinkling as he spoke.

"I don't feel like I have to live up to any expectations, let alone those of my family. See you, Inspector Lady." His voice was somewhere between a whisper and a normal tone. Before Kyoko could retort, the elevator doors shut. Her glare could have melted a hole through the dull metal.

"What a jerk." She muttered, tearing her eyes away from the doors as she turned on her heel. The sound of her shoes clomping against the marble tiles echoed off the high ceiling of the office building, shortly followed by the quicker, softer steps of Monica.

"Kyoko! Wait up!"

* * *

Daisuke slipped his old pair of sunglasses over his eyes as he walked down the familiar Kabuki Road. He lifted his head to look at all the things that had been repaired, and he couldn't help but laugh dryly.

"It's almost as if things righted themselves again just for the sake of my return." He thought, "I wonder if the office is rebuilt too…"

"HEY! DAISUKE!"

Wrenched from his thoughts, Daisuke was instantly smothered in womanly affection as three women pounced on him. They squealed simultaneously and suddenly badgered him with a million questions.

"Hey, where the hell did you go!"

"Yeah! How come the only one who saw you off was that co-worker of yours!"

"I thought you didn't like her!"

"Did you bring me back some souvenirs!"

"Oh! Oh! How about some of that loofah water from Saberbia!"

"Or that bear liver junk! Say, did you see any cute guys?"

Through all the turmoil, Daisuke caught a glimpse of pink hair. He felt his heart's beating quicken and pressure on his chest (other than the pressure from the girls' deadly hugging). He suddenly found the strength to pry himself away from the three, and he grinned at them.

"Girls, I'm really sorry… I have to go look for someone really important! I'll be staying here now, so I'll eat out with you some time!" He exclaimed, quickly lighting out of the area. He could still hear the girls' moans of protest as he crossed the street.

"-But Daaaaaais!" They whined in perfect harmony. By then, he was shoving his way through the crowds towards his old home and office building. He caught sight of it… Dirty as usual, but still the same old establishment. He felt the same emotion that coursed through him a moment ago flicker in his heart, and with one final push, he stood in front of the very building he'd known since he began working as a detective.

Looking back on everything that he had been through with this building, he had to say that through it's filthy appearance, it had grown on him. After all, it was his home.

It was at that moment he'd remembered the time when he'd first seen Kyoko in a different light. Obviously, his surprise at how different she could be lasted a good five seconds, but he had remembered it clearly.

Didn't she want him to forget about the office building, to forget about the agency and everything that they had put into getting it off the ground in order for him to be safe? Of course, it could have just been a co-worker's concern for a fellow team mate. There was something that flickered in her eyes with the fear and anxiety that consumed them though. He'd always been one for keeping both feet on the ground, but that look just threw him for a loop.

Even so, he was always able to steady himself before anyone could tell. At least at that point in his life. He'd smiled at her and asked if he shouldn't protect his own home. The last of the details were foggy after that, save for the explosion and a few choice words from Antonia.

With a heavy sigh, his chin lifted again. The tinted windows of the building reflected in the lenses of his sunglasses, and he decided that he may as well go look around the office. He had a good feeling that they (meaning Kyoko, J, Edmundo, and others) had rebuilt the agency. If they had… He was just a little curious as to how the new furniture felt.

* * *

"So what's bothering you _now_?"

The small café's outdoor tables were overshadowed by cute lace umbrellas that were both elegant and nice to look at. Especially since spring was just coming to an end in the city. The whole atmosphere of the place just seemed so artful.

The noon-time sun rays twinkled against the long spoon as Monica dipped it into her large parfait. In turn, Kyoko nibbled worriedly on a strawberry cookie. Monica eyed her sharply, following up with a heavy sigh.

"You really need to stop worrying so much! It's annoying!" She said through a mouthful of dessert. She licked her lips and watched Kyoko splutter. The older woman wiped the crumbs from her mouth daintily and set the rest of the cookie on the small plate in front of her.

"Monica, I do _not _worry! I just…" She made a circular gesture with her hand while she searched for the word. "I just think, ok? I think about what might happen! It's not the same as worrying." She excused as she grabbed up her cookie again. She crammed the rest of it into her mouth, blushing and chewing at the same time. Monica scrutinized her with a sharp eye and ate her parfait. Suddenly, she sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Alright, alright. I won't hassle you about your problems anymore, ok?" She announced, earning a broad smile from Kyoko. A sudden blast of wind made them both shudder. "It's getting cold... The sun's setting too." Monica muttered as she finished off her desert.

"Yeah," Kyoko said, standing. She took a few bills from somewhere and placed them on the table underneath her cookie plate. "We should get out of here."

* * *

"I've got to get out of here!"

Filled with panic, Daisuke rushed out of the old office building, his cheeks flushed from running and embarrassment due to the scene that he had stumbled upon. When he got far enough away, he stumbled to a quick walking pace.

Claire Leonelli and his right hand man, Giovanni.

When he pressed the elevator's button marked "up", he had no idea the surprise he was in for. He never expected to see one of the most powerful man in Judoh pressed up against the wall of an elevator, lip locked with another man. Claire's best friend and confidant, no less.

He shuddered at the thought, pushing the image as far away from himself as possible. "I can't think about that right now. No way." He muttered to himself. He brought out his mental checklist of people he'd seen. "The girls, Giovanni, Claire… Argh! Stop right there!" He chastised himself, not realizing that he was about to collide with a civilian.

"Whoa! Watch out… DAISUKE!"

The golden haired man looked up to see the same old scruffy ex-detective he had known three years ago. The difference was though, that he was arm in arm with Christina Gabriel. _The_ Christina Gabriel. Daisuke smirked at the image.

"Ken-chan, it's been a while." He said coolly. Christina smiled gently and waved to him with a pristinely manicured hand. He waved back, this time smiling earnestly. Ken laughed and swatted him on the back with an open palm. "Ah! Easy now!" Daisuke semi-whined.

"It's great to see you… Three years, right?" Ken wondered, earning a nod from Daisuke nodded.

"Almost three, actually." Christina corrected, smiling adoringly at Ken. "Oh Dais, just wait until Monica sees you! She'll be too happy to even speak!" She exclaimed, covering her mouth with her fingers to stifle a laugh. She looked to Ken questioningly. "Where has she been all day anyways?"

"Well, I think she was hanging out with Kyoko at the office. She's been doing that a lot, lately." He said, scratching his chin. His trademark stubble made a scratchy noise, but Daisuke didn't notice.

Kyoko…

The name just stuck out to Daisuke, he felt more alert now. "Do you know where they are?" He asked, masking the urgency in a sloppy way. Being the forever-dense man that he was, Ken only shrugged. Christina grinned though, and moved closer to Daisuke to whisper in his ear.

"Dais, remember what I told you that night?" She asked softly. For a moment, he was confused as to what she meant. "You know… When I ran into you at dawn after my date with that creep who almost abducted me?" Daisuke's mouth opened in to an "o" form. Christina giggled and continued on. "…Well, do you have that feeling yet? That feeling of the whole world lighting up just for you?" She asked.

Daisuke felt his chest tighten, a fleeting feeling running through him. He almost said something, but by the time he'd thought of it, Christina had already returned to Ken's side.

"Oops! Look at the time, Ken! We have to go home now… We'll see you later and catch up, Dais!" She cooed. Ken checked his watch and nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad we bumped into each other. We'll have you over for dinner soon!" He said gruffly. Daisuke watched in a stupor as the two of them walked off. His mind caught up with him finally, and he grinned.

"Like the world shines just for me, eh?" He wondered, turning on his heel. "…That sounds just about right."

* * *

"What are you looking for _now_?"

Somehow, Kyoko and Monica had walked to the local park, and were now sitting in the gazebo together. Monica was reading a girl's weekly comic anthology that she'd bought on their walk, and Kyoko just sat staring into space. Monica had broken the silence with the question, only receiving a soft grunt from her friend in return.

"Monica! There you are!"

Monica's head whipped around, her braids moving with her. Her expression instantly brightened, and she waved to the couple strolling down the park's garden path.

"Hi Mom! Hey Ken-chan!" She exclaimed. Kyoko stood up and walked with the thirteen-year-old to her guardians. They struck up a conversation about how their day went, and how Kyoko and Monica had just been wandering around.

"Oh! By the way, Da-" Ken was about to say that Daisuke had returned and that he was looking for Kyoko and Monica, but was cut off when Christina elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a warning look. He nodded in realization and turned back to the bewildered young women. "…That is to say, daikon radishes were half price today at the market!" He exclaimed. He flashed them a grin and placed a large hand upon the top of Monica's head. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, lets… Thanks again for hanging out with Monica all the time, Kyoko." Christina said with a kind smile. Kyoko smiled in return and twitched her shoulders.

"It's no trouble at all, Ms. Gabriel. We're good friends, Monica and I." She said, her eyes flitting to Monica's for a moment. They exchanged amused glances before the trio bid Kyoko farewell and set off down the garden path once more.

The pink haired woman turned away from their retreating figures, running her long fingers through her hair. She sat back down in the gazebo, sitting with her elbows on her knees and her hands cupping her face. The same old thoughts rushed through her head at a mile a minute. In a way, she hated the way she thought of him constantly. It made her head ache, so she tried to focus on the park instead. The only problem was that she'd been there to think so many times before that she was bored with the landscape. Every bush and tree looked the same. Even the same people were there.

Then, as if the weight of time had become too much for her, everything stopped moving.

…That is, except for the blonde haired man that seemed to wander about aimlessly.

* * *

How did he end up here?

The park still looked the same since he'd been there last. He knew everything about the park, including the gazebo perched on a small cliff overlooking the park and the rest of Judoh.

Since he'd bumped into Ken Edmundo and Christina Gabriel, he was surprised at how many other people he'd bumped into. Not anyone he was really looking for… Just some of his old connections and other civilians in the city that remembered him. He'd made small talk with all of them, but his heart wasn't really in it very much. It was somewhere far away, along with his mind. Which was currently set on finding one person in particular.

His green eyes roamed the darkened park, smiling slightly at the beauty of Judoh's typical sunset. He quickly returned to his search though, and began traveling up the hill to the small thicket and the gazebo. He didn't realize that the girl in question was standing inside the shelter, watching him with shocked eyes. It wasn't until she called his name that he looked up at her.

"…Daisuke?"

The world stopped moving.

She looked a little more mature than he'd remembered her to be, but the girlish look of surprise on her face made his memories come crashing down on him like an abrupt waterfall. He took a step, and the world resumed it's spin. Almost instantaneously, tears began falling from her eyes and she ran to him. Sobs racked her and he held her in a near-crushing embrace the instant she touched him.

"I missed you." He murmured, emotion consuming his voice as he buried his face in her neck. She didn't answer right away, since she was overcome with feeling as well. When she did though, it was in a way that Daisuke didn't quite expect.

"I-I love you!" She cried, her words coming out with each choke, "I thought you'd never come back!"

"This is it." Daisuke thought, knowing that he'd have to admit and carry out the convenience store woman's so-called prophecy. "I love you too." He replied, his arms releasing her from his bear grip. He gently brushed her tears away from her cheeks with his thumbs, a profoundly happy smile on his face. "You shouldn't cry when I'm finally back…" He said, looking down at her.

"I can't help it!" She exclaimed, reaching out to hold him again. Daisuke guided her to the gazebo, where the two of them sat on the very bench that Kyoko had been previously sitting on. He held her tight again, one of his hands brushing through her soft hair. His eyes closed and he absorbed himself in her entire being. Her warmth, the smell of her flowery shampoo, the softness of her usual cardigan sweater against his wrists and fingers.

"I'm back though." He said gently, moving back again. Kyoko's eyes still burned with unshed tears, her face blotchy. The sight made him chuckle softly, which in turn made her irritated. Her annoyed expression reminded him very much of how things had been before. "Before you get mad at me and before I ruin this moment, I'm laughing because if you keep on crying like that, I won't be able to kiss you." He murmured, his eyes dark. Somehow, there was an inexplicable spark in them. It made Kyoko blush bright red.

"You'd be able to kiss me whenever." She muttered, burying her face in her hands. Her affirmation made Daisuke blink in surprise for a split second. His smile returned though, and he removed his leather gloves from his fingers and set them off to the side. He then lifted her face from it's mask and held it in his own large hands. The feeling of his bare fingers against her skin made emotion well up inside him.

"I know…" He whispered, his hot breath tickled her nose as he drew closer. He closed his eyes again and for a fleeting moment remembered what Christina Gabriel had told him on that night three years ago.

I'm feeling that, you know. You were right about the world shining just for me.

His thoughts died at the touch of their lips, left behind somewhere as he became consumed by everything that he had wanted back for the longest time. Truly, she was the only reason he'd ever wanted to return to Judoh for. That was all over now, since he was devoid of any other feeling in the world.

Kyoko Milchan… You do the most amazing things to me, don't you?

When they finally parted, Kyoko looked him over with a small smile. "I was just thinking," She began. Her voice was soft on Daisuke's ears, and he cocked his head in befuddlement. "After much consideration, I've decided that this is probably the best souvenir I could ever wish for."

Daisuke blinked in stupor.

"Souvenir…?" He echoed. When he finally understood, a huge grin broke out on his handsome face and he began laughing. "So this means I won't have to take you out to lunch, right?" He asked, grabbing her up in a tight hug again. Kyoko laughed along with him, her hands splayed out over his shoulder blades.

"We can go half and half next time." She said. She pulled away from him and stuck out her hand in a business-like fashion. "Deal?"

She was answered with a fiery kiss on Daisuke's part. When he was through, he grinned impishly and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Deal."

_Owari-_


End file.
